Incidents at Sea Agreements

Provisions
The Incidents at Sea Agreement serves to enhance mutual knowledge and understanding of military activities; to reduce the possibility of conflict by accident, miscalculation, or the failure of communication; and to increase stability in times of both calm and crisis.

Status
In March 1968 the United States proposed talks on preventing naval incidents from becoming more serious. The Soviet Union accepted the invitation in November 1970, and the talks were conducted in two rounds -- October 1, 1971, in Moscow and May 17, 1972, in Washington, D.C. The Agreement was signed by Secretary of the Navy John Warner and Soviet Admiral Sergei Gorshkov during the Moscow summit meeting in 1972.

In January 1998, China and the United States signed the Agreement Between the Ministry of National Defense of the PRC and the Department of Defense of the USA on Establishing a Consultation Mechanism to Strengthen Military Maritime Safety.

Documents
Primary documents, including treaty text and associated memoranda, statements and other related material, as well as official factsheets, announcements, briefings speeches and other related material.